Following her last final of the spring, Alicia Sorenson couldn’t believe it: She had only 24 hours to move out of her residence hall within Arizona Stadium.
“”We were just rushed to get out of there,”” said Sorenson, a pre-education sophomore.
All students have only a calendar day after their last finals to move out of dorms for winter break, said Patrick Call, interim director of Residence Life, as every residence hall will close Dec. 15.
While students can plan for the time crunch ahead, some, like biology freshman Dakota Maness, nonetheless wish they didn’t have to remain isolated from their residence hall homes.
Maness lives at Sky View Apartments, 1050 E. Eighth St. Without access to his things, he will stay in Phoenix over winter break to work.
Others needing to stay in town will opt to move back home or shack up with students who live off campus.
Jane Dollinger, a media arts sophomore, is subletting her apartment to a friend who needs to work in Tucson over winter break. Sorenson chose to live in an apartment this year because it was more flexible.
The only on-campus housing that stays open is La Aldea, the 12-month graduate housing facility, giving some students the opportunity to stay rooted in one place year round.
But, Call said, “”If they don’t have an academic reason to be here, they tend to get into trouble.””
During winter break, the university closes for a period, as utilities like heating are shut down to save money, he said.
More than 15 years ago, he said, the UA used to keep one dorm open. Occupants would be told to remove their valuables and then a temporary resident would swoop in.
Call believes that system wasn’t fair to the paying occupants, and doesn’t think a similar arrangement would work again.
“”Since we have so many different buildings, it would be hard to choose which ones to choose and to get services just to that one building,”” he said.
Call said he’s heard little student clamoring for winter housing.
“”My entire time here, in 13 to 14 years, there hasn’t been a major push,”” he said. “”Maybe one person a year will pose a question.””
“”We are clear with people upfront that these are the dates and time we’re open,”” he said. “”We don’t have people who come and ask for that housing.””
Residence Life currently serves more than 6,000 students living on campus and has no future plan to keep residence halls open year-round.
